Paul Cuneo

President and Pro-Am Coordinator

Paul has two children and he resides in the Champions area of Houston, Texas, where he also serves as Secretary of the Board of Directors for Bilma Public Utility District. He took up playing competitive bridge and joined the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) in 2005 achieving the rank of Bronze Life Master in 2009. He was elected to the Board of Directors for the Houston unit of ACBL in April, 2008 and currently serves as President.

Prior to his retirement in 2002, Paul worked for Shell Oil Company for 33 years where he held positions of increasing responsibility until reaching the level of Vice President Technology for Oil Products in 1998. While in this position he was Chairman of the American Petroleum Institute’s Technology Committee and served on the Board of Directors for the Coordinating Research Council for Auto/Oil research and was President of this organization from 1999 to 2001. In 2000, Paul became Chief Information Officer for Shell Oil Products Company and he retired from this position after successful implementation of many programs. He graduated from the Colorado School of Mines in 1969 with a degree in Chemical and Petroleum Refining Engineering.

Paul joined Executive Service Corps Houston (ESCH) in 2005, became chairman of the Consultant Relations Committee in 2008 and now leads the Project Coordination Team. He has been actively serving nonprofit organizations through executive coaching, business planning, strategic planning and information technology projects. He was appointed to the Board of Directors in 2008 and currently serves as Secretary.

Paul currently attends Faithbridge United Methodist Church in Spring and involved with the men’s Bible study program.

Bob Dowlen

Vice President, Fund Raising Coordinator, and Assistant STaC Coordinator

Beverley Cheatham

Secretary, Social Bridge Coordinator, Assistant NAP and GNT Coordinator

Kathy Hughes

I/N Coordinator

Chuck Ensor

Supply Coordinator and STaC Coordinator

Jolie Hess

Tournament Coordinator

Karen Nimmons

Goodwill, Awards, and Flyer Distribution

Robert Reichek

NAP and GNT Coordinator, and Assitant Supply Coordinator

I've been playing duplicate bridge regularly for the last 6 years, having just recently received the Bronze Life Master designation.

I was a co-founder of Dyad Construction Co. in 1977; a company I sold my ownership interest to my partner 4 years ago. I now manage commercial real estate in the Houston area. I graduated with a business degree from the University of Houston. Later I served on the Board of Directors for the College of Business Alum Assn.

I am very happily married to Jennifer, who was a public school principal. We share 4 adult children. We live near Memorial Park where we enjoy jogging and walking. I seem to come from a family of bridge players, having learned the game from my mother. My brother and first cousin are life masters, currently playing in the Houston area.

Joyce Ryan

Book Sales, Education Liaison, and Assistant I/N Coordinator

After thirty years in public education, Joyce retired in 1997 and has worked part time in the field of education since then. She started to play duplicate bridge in 2000 and loves the game and welcomes the wonderful opportunities it provides to meet new people.

Joyce is a Silver Life Master with 2000 master points, a certified bridge director; an ACBL accredited teacher; a member of the unit board of directors where she serves as education liaison, and is the intermediate and novice coordinator for District 16. She's a member of the National Goodwill Committee.

She directs monthly games at River Oaks and Lakeside Country Clubs, and the Houston Racquet Club and the Forest Club, and conducts supervised bridge on Monday afternoons at St. Martin's Church. She is the owner and teacher at St. Martin’s Bridge School.

Joyce has been an active volunteer with the Blue Bird Circle in Houston for the past ten years and I is a mentor to three high school students in the Spring Branch Collegiate Challenge.

Joyce has been a bridge teacher and director on numerous cruises; cruising the Black Sea, Baltic Sea, Caribbean, Mediterranean, Panama Canal, South Pacific, Alaska, East Coast and West Coast . During the summer of 2010 she will be cruising the North Cape and the Inland Passage.

Dale Crumbaugh & Natalie Greene

Election Officials

Sandra Clark

Communications Committee Chair

I am a retired biochemist, a musician, a nutty cat lover and an avid bridge player. I had been playing bridge in Houston for many years before I stopped in 1993. I'm especially grateful to Arlene Weingarten for getting me back up to speed over the last few years. I feel the communication committee is the least I can do to thank the unit for the opportunities for friendship and a wonderful pastime it has given me.

Norm Gautier

Financial Verifier

Dianna Gittelman

Nominating Committee Chair

Buddy Hanby

Attorney

Buddy has over 5,000 master points. He has won one North American Championship, finished in the top ten in several other North American Championships, and won dozens of Regional events.

When not playing bridge, Buddy is an attorney who handles civil appeals and criminal appeals.

He is the author of Hanby’s Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, Annotated, a book published annually by West Publishing Co.

He has frequently been recognized as a Super Lawyer by the Texas Monthly.

He has been married to fellow bridge player, Sally Wheeler for thirty-three wonderful years.

Mary Jane Kinnebrew

Scorecard Reporter

Mary Jane lives and plays bridge in the middle of Houston. She has been married to Hugh for 45 years, and has 2 married children and 4 grandchildren. MJ has degrees from Rice, Lamar, and Houston; and she taught composition and literature at San Jacinto College for 25 years.

Currently, as the Houston Chapter's Volunteer Red Cross Disaster Training Coordinator, she does quite a bit of computer work and also some training for Disaster Services.

She and Hugh enjoy Rice sports, and MJ also loves to travel. Her family joins her each year in June to see the College World Series in Omaha and in August to tube the Comal and play lots of cards at New Braunfels.

Other highlights in 2010 will be a May Houston Zoo trip with daughter Jill to see wolves and bears in Yellowstone, and an October "Wine and Art in France" tour with a San Jac friend to Provence, Cote du Rhone, Beaujolais, and Burgundy.

Barbara La Vigne

Recorder

Mike Lee

Ethics Committee Chair

Lew Levy

District 16 Executive Treasurer

Pat Levy

Publicity Chair

Chuck Michalski

E-mail Newsletter Editor

Paul Nimmons

Parliamentarian

Bert Onstott

Webmaster, Graphic Artist, Directory Coordinator, Membership, D16 Webmaster and Unit Representative

Bert retired from Shell in 2007 after 26 years as a Chemical Engineer, where he was one of Shell's leaders in applying process optimization systems to help run refinery process units more profitably. Bert earned a BS in Chemical Engineering from UC Davis in 1980. Prior to that he spent ten years in the U. S. Navy as a computer technician.

Bert took up duplicate in 1997 after taking the Club series from Tom Jahnke. Brigitte Sandifer was his first Mentor! He is now a Silver Life Master with about 1,800 points.

He was elected to the Unit Board of Directors in 2003 and served two terms as Vice President and two terms as President during the subsequent six years. He chaired or co-chaired five regionals and several sectionals during that time, and served as NAP, GNT, and STaC coordinator, as well as Secretary, Photographer, and Directory Coordinator.

Since retiring from Shell he's enjoyed acquiring the skills to build and maintain web sites, and currently serves as Unit and District Webmaster. He also built and maintains the web site for the Houston Bridge Studio and the partnership sites for Houston and Austin.

He's the Unit 174 representative to the District 16 Board and is currently 2nd Vice President of District 16.

Bert is married to his wonderful wife Katherine and enjoys reading, bridge, fishing, woodworking and gardening.

Brigitte Sandifer

Bridge in Schools Coordinator

Eric Snow

Houston Convention Center Rep

Donna Sparks

Unit Photographer

Sandy Stevens

Caddy Chair

Arlene Weingarten

Webmaster Emeritus and Web Site Advisor

Jim Woodward

Treasurer and Budget Coordinator

Jim is married to Joyce and has one son, Chris who will attend the University of California (Berkeley) starting in September 2010.  He has been Unit Treasurer since 2004. He has about 600 master points and doesn’t get to play nearly as much as he would like.

Jim has a Rice degree. He worked for Shell Oil for 30 years in finance and information technology, including jobs reporting to both Norm Gautier and Paul Cuneo. 

After leaving Shell he attended law school, passing the Bar in 2004. He opened a solo criminal defense practice, but took an opportunity to enter the business world.  He is currently employed by Bluewater Industries, a firm specializing in project management and general contracting for offshore oil and gas construction.  He is Vice President – Commercial, responsible for accounting, finance, contracts and insurance, and still does a little criminal defense on the side. 

Jim and his family are members of Bellaire United Methodist Church.